Straw asks Muslim women to remove veil

Commons leader Jack Straw revealed today that he asks Muslim women to remove their veils when they visit his constituency surgery.

Mr Straw wrote that he now makes sure a female member of staff is with him during his surgeries and, after explaining his position, asks the woman to take the veil off.

"I explain that this is a country built on freedoms. I defend absolutely the right of any women to wear a headscarf," he said.

"As for the full veil, wearing it breaks no laws.

"I go on to say that I think, however, that the conversation would be of greater value if the lady took the covering from her face.

"Indeed, the value of a meeting, as opposed to a letter or phone call, is so that you can - almost literally - see what the other person means, and not just hear what they say."

He said he thought it would be "hard going" to make the request, but went on: "I can't recall a single occasion when the lady concerned had refused to lift her veil; and most I ask seem relieved I have done so."

He said a woman who came to see him last Friday took the veil off "almost as soon as I opened my mouth".

"We then had a really interesting debate about veil-wearing. It became absolutely clear to me that the husband had played no part in her decision.

"She explained she had read some books and thought about the issue. She felt more comfortable wearing the veil when out. People bothered her less.

"'OK,' I said, but did she think that veil-wearing was required by the Koran? I was no expert, but many Muslim scholars said that the full veil was not obligatory at all."

He said he asked the woman to think about the issue and had done so himself.

"I thought a lot before raising this matter a year ago, and still more before writing this. But if not me, who?

"My concerns may be misplaced. But I think there is an issue here."

Dr Daud Abdullah, from the Muslim Council of Britain, said it was up to individual Muslim women whether or not they wore the veil.

"This [the veil] does cause some discomfort to non-Muslims, one can understand this," he said.

"Even within the Muslim community the scholars have different views on this.

"There are those who believe it is obligatory for the Muslim woman to cover her face.

"Others say she is not obliged to cover up. It's up to the woman to make the choice.

"Our view is that if it is going to cause discomfort and that can be avoided then it can be done. The veil over the hair is obligatory."

Mr Straw's comments will renew the debate about the boundaries of multiculturalism in Britain and the relationship between the majority and minority cultures.

Two years ago a Muslim schoolgirl lost her high court battle for the right to wear a more conservative style of dress than her school allowed.

Shabina Begum said she was being denied her "right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs".

The headteacher and governors of Denbigh High School in Luton, Bedfordshire, said allowing her to wear the long jilbab - which does not include a veil - could cause divisions among pupils.